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Methodology to Determine the Toughness of a Brittle Thin Film by Nanoindentation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Helene Brillet-Rouxel ,
Marc Verdier ,
Michel Dupeux ,
Muriel Braccini  and
Stéphane Orain
Helene Brillet-Rouxel
Affiliation:
helene.brillet@st.com, STMicroelectronics, Mechanical & Thermal Simulations, 850 rue Jean Monnet, Crolles, N/A, 38926, France, +33 4 38 92 25 59
Marc Verdier
Affiliation:
marc.verdier@ltpcm.inpg.fr, LTPCM(CNRS/INPG/UJF), Domaine Universitaire BP75, Grenoble, N/A, 38041, France
Michel Dupeux
Affiliation:
michel.dupeux@ltpcm.inpg.fr, LTPCM(CNRS/INPG/UJF), Domaine Universitaire BP75, Grenoble, N/A, 38041, France
Muriel Braccini
Affiliation:
muriel.braccini@ltpcm.inpg.fr, LTPCM(CNRS/INPG/UJF), Domaine Universitaire BP75, Grenoble, N/A, 38041, France
Stéphane Orain
Affiliation:
stephane.orain@philipscrolles.st.com, PHILIPS semiconductors, 860, rue Jean Monnet, Crolles, N/A, 38926, France
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Abstract

Nanoindentation is the most convenient local technique for measuring elastic modulus, hardness, and fracture toughness of dielectric thin films. This approach is applied to bulk silicon and dielectric thin films (porous and non-porous) on silicon substrate. Reproducible stable cracks are generated from the edges of a cube corner indentor. The validity of theoretical model of use to estimate the toughness from cracks length has been checked on these reference cases. To calculate the toughness of thin film on Si substrate, we first established the loading range in which the cracks only affect the thin film without substrate damage. Several corrective terms have been introduced to the classical toughness estimation formula to take into account the proximity of the film/substrate interface and the residual stress pre-existing in the film. This approach is discussed by comparing experimental results obtained including these improvements to literature results.

Keywords

dielectricfracturemicroelectronics
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 914: Symposium F – Materials, Technology and Reliability of Low-k Dielectrics and Copper Interconnects , 2006 , 0914-F02-07
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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